Medical Marijuana Centers Face Food-Safety Inspections

One of Florida's largest medical marijuana treatment centers has stopped processing cannabis until it meets a food-safety inspection deadline.

The Miami Herald reported Thursday that Surterra halted its production of new items last week after it was notified that the state Department of Health was enforcing a provision requiring medical marijuana treatment centers to get third-party inspections.

Surterra operates eight locations around Florida. Only Trulieve has more locations with 15 dispensaries.

Surterra says it's in the process of completing the required inspections and expects its certification process to be completed in the next few weeks.

Many marijuana businesses ignored the inspection requirement, believing it was part of the state's guidelines on edible medical marijuana. The Department of Health is still working on rules for edible marijuana.

Trulieve, Florida’s largest medical marijuana business, is asking a Tallahassee judge to strike down a state law that limits the number of dispensaries marijuana companies can operate, saying the restriction “arbitrarily impairs product availability and safety” and “unfairly penalizes” pot providers.

Chiding a judge who sided with sick patients and saying plaintiffs likely won’t win on the merits of the case, an appellate court on Tuesday refused to allow smokable medical marijuana while a legal fight continues to play out.